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By Henry Owino
Nairobi, Kenya: Whether based on belief or science, certain foods have been credited with healing powers. Yet some foods are unhealthy and have potential health risks when consumed on a routine basis.
More than two thousand years ago, the precursor of modern medicine, Hippocrates, coined the aphorism, “May your food be your medicine, and may your medicine be your food.”
What this cliché does not mean is “Let not thy food be confused with thy medicine.”
Hippocrates was a Greek physician and philosopher of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He emphasized the importance of nutrition to prevent or cure disease and suggested the essential role of a balanced diet for good health.
Universally, Hippocrates is recognized as the father of modern medicine, which is based on observation of clinical signs and rational conclusions and does not rely on religious or magical beliefs.
So, 400 years before the birth of Christ, Hippocrates had already understood the importance of nutrition in relation to human health and human psycho-physical well-being; better described as “We are what we eat”.
Healthy Diet Pattern Increases Life Expectancy.
In short, what we eat and how much we eat is critical, but how we process it is perhaps even more important, thus ‘putting events on a diet’ – maintaining a healthy eating pattern while attending social gatherings to avoid lifestyle diseases.
According to the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute (KNDI), lifestyle as well as individual and social behaviours influence people’s nutritional choices and health. To reach out to the masses, especially among professional persons, KNDI has accredited programmes offered at the Technical University of Kenya’s Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (DHND).
Through a rigorous inspection exercise at the university, the KNDI CEO, Dr. David Omondi Okeyo, said the Technical University of Kenya (TU-K) meets all training and research requirements to offer diploma and degree programmes to its students. Okeyo said KNDI has granted another four-year accreditation to the TU-K to offer diploma and degree programmes in human nutrition and dietetics.
Dr. Daniel Kitambo, a specialist in Diabetes, Reversal & Remission and Lifestyle Medicine, says the relationship with food is deeply determined by a complex network of different factors. It includes the relationship with one’s body, the reaction to traumatic events, emotional and family relationships, and many others.
Dr. Katambo says several different socio-economic factors have caused a large portion of the population to adopt unhealthy eating habits that can undermine healthcare systems, unless current trends are inverted towards more sustainable lifestyle models.
Fast Changing Environment and Lifestyle
He points out that globalization and migration have led to rapid urbanization, which has transformed lifestyles. There are more automobiles than ever before, resulting in motorized lifestyles. Diets have completely shifted from natural food to more processed foods.
Urbanization comes with pollution, overcrowded population, and sometimes deplorable living conditions, thereby adding pressure on food supply systems. Many people end up feeding on junk foods and processed foods, which are primary drivers of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, are not passed from person to person. They are of long duration and generally slow progression, thereby imposing a major and growing burden on health and development.
“In short, we are living a sedentary lifestyle. Our physical activity levels are compromised by technological advancements. We heavily depend on systems that enhance efficiency, productivity, and convenience in various fields in our lifetime.” Dr Katambo states.
“We use vehicles or motorbikes from home to work, then take the elevator to the respective office storey floors and take a seat, working the whole day at a computer desktop. At lunch break, we eat packaged processed foods or move to the nearest eatery with fast-moving food. After lunch, it’s back to the office and the same thing is repeated in the evening daily,” Dr Katambo explains.
As a result of a sedentary lifestyle, NCDs have been on the rise, However, the numbers of NCDs increasing the most include cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, chronic respiratory disease, cancers, diabetes, and obesity.
While fast food is notorious for its poor nutritional profile, the most visible effect of fast-food consumption is weight gain. Dr. Kitambo said the possibility of weight gain leading to obesity is very high, which in itself is a risk factor for numerous health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Nutrition experts maintain that directing governments’ political actions towards spreading adherence to the Mediterranean Diet’s principles as much as possible among the population could help to tackle the obesity epidemic, especially in childhood, as well as the other rampant non-communicable diseases among Kenyans.
The increase in obesity among infants and toddlers is a result of eating unhealthy amounts of sugar. This is mostly because the products marketed and sold by the processed food industry are high in sugar.
Based on the National Nutrition Survey, children aged 2-3 years consumed about 32 grams of added sugar per day, the equivalent of eight teaspoons of white sugar. This means increased availability of ultra-processed foods for very young children may be contributing to a sugary diet.
“The problem with too much sugar in our diets is that it provides kilojoules but little else nutritionally,” said Dr. Katambo. “These extra kilojoules promote weight gain and obesity. They also contribute strongly to tooth decay in young children and often displace healthy options like fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods from a child’s diet.”
Today, at least one in every four Kenyan children has dental cavities in their baby or permanent teeth. This clearly shows that no one is safe when it comes to an unhealthy diet – youths, adolescents, and adults.
“The NCDs are increasing, especially cardiovascular diseases among people between the age bracket of 20 to 79. In Kenya, at least 24 per cent of adults are living with hypertension, followed closely by cancer and diabetes. Others are respiratory conditions, arthritis, kidney diseases, and many more,” Dr Katambo said.
Other risk factors for NCDs include tobacco use, air pollution, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol, and unhealthy diet – all of which are avoidable. These diseases are a burden to individuals, families, and the government in terms of finances.
NCDs Economic Burden
In Kenya, Dr. Katambo said, NCDs contribute to over 50 per cent of inpatient admissions and 40 per cent of hospital deaths. That means NCDs consume a substantial proportion of the health-care budget, taking away funds from other development needs
NCDs reduce the productivity of the workforce, resulting in the reduction of overall economic output. It is estimated that every 10 per cent increase in NCD mortality results in a 0.5 per cent reduction in annual economic growth.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, recognizes NCDs as a major public health challenge. Sustainable Development Goals include targets to reduce premature NCD mortality by one‐third by 2030.
NCDs Panacea
Even though a dietary plan inspired by the principle of the Mediterranean Diet is associated with numerous health benefits and has been demonstrated to exert a preventive effect on numerous pathologies, its use is decreasing, and it is now being supplanted by different nutritional models that are often generated by cultural and social changes.
Nutrition information labels are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to their health.
The Kenya Constitution 2010, drafters of the supreme law on land, must have considered the same principle to be applied as part of the consumer’s protection from food manufacturers.
Article 46(1) outlines consumer rights, ensuring consumers have access to reasonable quality goods and services, necessary information for full benefit, protection of their health, safety, and economic interests, and compensation for damages arising from defects. It also mandates Parliament to enact consumer protection laws and legislation for fair advertising.
In Kenya, the Government, through the Ministry of Health, has taken unhealthy diets as a serious concern. This is because it promotes bad eating habits that risk the lives of thousands, and leaves the burden on the government to finance its management.
The Ministry is now in the process of implementing the Nutritional Profile Model (NPM) to ensure food products are labeled in relation to nutrient classification.
“NPM is a system that evaluates and classifies foods based on their nutritional composition. The model promotes healthy eating and prevention of diseases by identifying foods with high levels of harmful nutrients like salt, saturated fats, or sugars or those lacking in beneficial nutrients like vitamins and minerals,” Dr. Katambi, The NPM will guide consumers to a prudent selection of the food products that form their diet preferences.
However, before then, it is important to reduce the intake of unhealthy foods and replace them with whole, minimally processed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, which can significantly lower the risk of NCDs.
In summary, let’s as much as possible avoid processed foods, especially those with added sugar, excessive fats, and salt. They are nutrients of concern in NCDs as confirmed by many scientists and researchers who focus on healthy diets to understand how nutrition impacts health and disease.
